Georgetown Will Give Admissions Preferences to Descendants of Slaves It Sold

In an effort to atone for its profit off the sale of 272 slaves almost two centuries ago, Georgetown University will, among other things, give preferential treatment in the admissions process to descendants of those slaves, the university announced on Thursday morning.

The action emerged from a working group’s report on how the institution will reckon with its sale of those slaves. The New York Times reported this year that the university was beginning to seek out descendants of the slaves it sold in 1838 to put the institution on a more secure financial footing.